“God has all the perspectives…I just have mine.”
I don’t know where I came
up with this idea, but I’ve sort of always thought that my life was a big deal…or
at least I thought it was supposed to be. Most of my life, I’ve been under the
impression that I’m extremely important and if I’m living my life “correctly”
for God then I’ll be doing all these great things with my life. I’ve often been
told, “If you truly are submitting to God, and seeking His will for your
life, then He will show up, direct your steps, tell you what to do, and you
will accomplish great, God-sized things.” That sounds good, but somewhere
along the line I think I’ve lost perspective of how things are actually
supposed to work. Since when did my life become the main thing? Why am I
looking at how to fit God into my “ultra important” life? We read that
“God’s ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our
thoughts,” yet when it comes to seeking God’s will for our lives, we still
look at it through our own lens, and from our own perspective, trying to fit
God into what we’re doing
.
Expecting Him to jump on board with our agenda or ideas of what
our lives should look like.
Lately, I’ve begun looking at it from a completely different angle.
God has a plan, right? And not just any plan…He has a master plan, THE Master
Plan for all creation. He knows the beginning and the end and everything in
between. He doesn’t see life moment by moment like we do, He sees the whole
thing at once. He’s got it all under control, and His will WILL be
accomplished. Yet we’ll take a verse like
Romans
8:28
”
And we know that in all things God works for
the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose
,”
and interpret it to mean that as long as I love God, then
everything that happens in my life is going to turn out good eventually. God’s
going to work things out for me in my life because God cares about me and my
life. Right? Well yes, He does, but t
he question we should be asking isn’t “How
can I fit God into my life?” but rather, “How does my life fit into
what God is doing?” How does God want to fully graft my life (the good,
the bad, and the ugly) into His plan that is already in motion?
My life isn’t the big deal. I am not
the focal point. God’s master plan is the big deal, and if He can use any part
of my life to accomplish even a small part of that plan, then my life is a part
of the will of God. I don’t need to worry about “missing out” on
God’s plan for my life because despite what I used to think, I can’t mess up
God’s plan! When I’m fully engaged in pursuing God, my life is fully grafted
into what He’s doing…my whole life becomes God’s will. I become the will of God…now
that’s pretty cool.
Changing
my way of thinking has done two things for me. First, it’s removed the pressure
to live an extraordinary life full of extraordinary things. (Read Jimmy
McCarty’s blog A Moment of Clarity for some great thoughts on that subject) My
life might end up being 99% ordinary by human standards, but that 1% might be
the very reason I was created and put on this earth. I don’t have to live up to
any standards put on me of expected greatness in this world. God is far beyond
that, and if He plugs me into His plan and uses me to help change the life of
just one person, then I’m ok with that. I still get to be Jesus with skin on to
everyone I meet, and I get to spend the rest of my life just living in
relationship with Him everyday…not bad at all!
And
second, I’ve come to realize is that while God wants to plug me into what He’s
doing in the world, I can still choose not to take part. There have been many
times in my life where I’ve stepped out of God’s plan and willingly done my own
thing for awhile. During these times, God’s not threatened by my stubborn
disobedience…His will continues. When I choose to walk outside His will, I’m the
one who misses out on the blessings, not God. He doesn’t NEED me…He WANTS me. He
will continue to lovingly invite me back and give me opportunities to participate
in the great things He’s doing, but He will never violate my free will. The
choice is still mine.
The
pressure to be great and do great is gone, because I have become a part of
something great. Something that is so much bigger than myself. My individual
accomplishments are no longer important. My life will be just one small part of
God’s master story, and I can’t wait for the day when I get to see how all the
pieces fit together to perfectly fulfill the plan that He’s had all along.
God’s purposes will be accomplished. How humbling is it that He allows, better
yet desires us to be a part of it! That’s how much He loves us.
“I am the
vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he
will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
